LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Booked Solid |
by Constant Reader |
Cavedwellers, Dorothy Allison (Dutton, 436 pp, $24.95) Dorothy Allisons Bastard Out of Carolina certainly enlarged her readership and gained her the critical praise she so well deserves. In Bastard and other of her writings Allison brought us brutally face-to-face with sexual abuse, using the power of words that almost left marks. Cavedwellers is a departure from the world that Allison has made so vivid in her previous writings. This novel follows Delia Byrd, a recovering alcoholic and recovering rock-and-roll star, as she returns with her ten-year-old daughter, Cissy, to her home in Cayro, Georgia. Delia fled Cayro to escape a brutal, alcohol- steeped husband, leaving behind Dede, ten months old, and three-year-old Amanda. Feeling that her survival depended on it, Delia boards a rock tour bus seeking shelter in the arms of Randall, the lead singer of the group, Mud Dog. Her husband, Clint, vindictively will not relinquish custody of the two girls and leaves their care in the hands of his morally upright and judgmental mother. Cavedwellers opens with the violent death of Randall and Delias simultaneous decision that she must go home to Cayro and make peace with her other two girls and the life she left behind. With the truculent Cissy in tow, Delia finds that the way home is not an easy one. She is scorned by the people in Cayro, most of whom feel the need to thump and quote the bible in her presence. Initially her only refuge is long-time friend M.T., an earth-mother offering down-home sensibility and love. The road to redemption is seldom smooth and Delia confronts and mostly overcomes the many obstacles she faces. Reunited with her daughters after a bitter battle of wills with her mother-in-law, she struggles to build a new life in the narrow confines of Cayro. Her three girls inflict the growing pains of adolescence on her as she comes to terms with the pains and sorrows of her past. When Cissy turns fifteen her friend Nolan takes her to his special place called Paulas Lost. The Lost is a hole in the ground which is the entrance to a cave, and for Cissy the entrance to another world. She is totally absorbed. Heres what Allison tells us: "People go caving for no reason anyone can predict. Mountain climbing is more exhilarating. Skydiving offers a better view. Skiing, fencing, or even horseback riding provide just as good a workout. Caving is not a sport but a dare, more a trial than an excursion. A dark, deep, pitched hole is the perfect place to test the nerves, the muscles, the survival instincts, but the risk is awful, the terror primeval. From those first moments lying on her back in the loose shale of Paulas Lost, Cissy knew she loved it as Brewster had, the dark and the safety, the risk, and the unknown depths." The power of this book is to be found in those depths as Cissy stretches her endurance and soul. It is the pivot and the centerpiece. Much of what precedes and follows it is predictable and uninspiring. Its as if Allison wants peace and happy endings for her characters and sacrifices depth to get them there. If this were another author it would be easy to relegate this book to the sort of "life is hard, people can be hateful but hang in there, be true to yourself and things will all work out in the end" clich. As it is, Allison seems to be in unfamiliar territory and is trying out her wings. She has yet to find her voice in this new genre. Her writing remains assured and captivating, but her words just dont ring true. Should you read this book? Of course you should. Never miss the opportunity to be in the presence of writing genius. Dorothy Allison is a literary treasure and should not be ignored in any form. Perhaps in her next book shell abandon the search for tranquillity for her characters and give us that hard edged prose we know is there. Surrender Dorothy. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 8, No. 6, June 5, 1998. |